New York, May 3, 2010 – “Oprah does represent to me the complete American woman, an incredible work ethic, energy, she loves philanthropy; I mean, she’s just everywoman,” Anna Wintour told reporters as she entered the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute gala on Monday.  This year’s exhibition is American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity, so Oprah Winfrey was the perfect gala co-chair.

Oprah arrived on the arm of Oscar de la Renta, who designed her dress for the ball.  “Being able to celebrate the American woman with the quintessential American designer is the most fun,” a beaming Winfrey said.  “I feel like Pretty Woman.”

And Oprah’s trademark warmth seemed to permeate this very chic evening.  The famous attendees seemed to be more relaxed than in previous years, laughing and air-kissing as they made their way up the museum’s steps.  Eva Longoria Parker joked about her tight-fitting dress.  Maggie Grace laughed about the sticky East Coast weather.  “It’s very English weather.  It can’t make up its mind if it’s really going to rain or not," she said.

Emma Watson told Burberry designer Christopher Bailey that she wanted her dress for the gala to be white and off-the-shoulder.  “Christopher did the rest and brought it to life and made it cool and young,” the Harry Potter star said. 

Michael Kors recalled the first time he’d met Oprah.  “The first time I did Oprah’s show, I almost had a heart attack,” Kors said, laughing.  “The audience made me crazy, but she’s one of a kind.”

Oprah really does seem to put everyone at ease, and perhaps most telling, even celebrities who normally avoid the media completely joked and schmoozed with the reporters lining the museum stairs.  Kirsten Dunst chattered about her Rodarte for Gap dress, which was to be auctioned off along with others to benefit the Costume Institute.  Mariska Hargitay was unusually easygoing; she’d just met Oprah a couple of weeks previously at an awards luncheon.  “That was a thrill,” Hargitay gushed.

And Katie Couric, who arrived a bit late, and who is normally unapproachable at red carpets events, was relaxed and gracious and laughing; and no, she told us that she didn’t wear her designer gown on the CBS Evening News broadcast; she changed into afterward.

New York, April 12, 2010 – The Saturday Night Live folks made a rare appearance at a panel discussion at the Pierre Hotel, and we learned a few things about how the inner workings of the iconic sketch comedy show.  Head writer Seth Meyers, who does the “Weekend Update” bit solo since Amy Poehler left, admitted that he prefers writing for others.  “I used to be in sketches, and I feel a lot of relief not being in them,” Meyers said, and added that producer Lorne Michaels still begs him to be in sketches. 

Kristen Wiig, who appears in many of the sketches, said she also writes her characters.  “It helps, I think, if you're part of the writing process,” she told the audience. 

Moderator Jimmy Fallon revealed that Fred Armisen ad-libs quite a bit on the show.  Armisen says that he often improvises Nicholas Fehn, the rambling comedian character who never finishes a sentence.  Meyers said it was unnerving to see Armisen’s cue cards blank during Weekend Update. 

Also on hand were the hilarious Kenan Thompson, Bill Hader, Andy Samberg and Lorne Michaels.

Photos: Caroline Torem Craig

New York, April 5, 2010 – Hot Scots and wannabe Scots donned tartan at the Dressed to Kilt fashion show, one of our favorite events each year.  This year’s theme was “Mad for Scotland,” celebrating eccentric style and individuality. 

Looking mad (and having fun) on the runway were Joan Jett in a cone-shaped bra and feathered headdress, Mike Myers in a kilt with sneakers, and model Marcus Schenkenberg, who covered his legs with a floor-length garment, but made up for that by going bare-chested.  Scottish footballer Thom Evans showed off his soccer ball on the runway, while fellow Scot Alan Cumming wore a kilt-suit with tall boots.  Kellie Pickler and Kelly Bensimon both opted for short plaid dresses. 

Not all the models dressed eccentrically.  Kyle McLachlan paired a traditional kilt with a turtleneck, and Al Roker, Sam Waterston, Olympic speed skater Shani Davis and Eric Trump (the Donald’s son) all wore traditional blazers over their kilts – must be what guys wear to the office in Glasgow. 

Sir Sean and Lady Micheline Connery hosted, and the crowd grew more and more rowdy thanks to copious amounts of Glenfiddich. 

New York, March 1, 2010 – Robert Pattinson’s new movie, Remember Me, is a departure from his Twilight role in several ways.  The story is a serious drama about love, loss and forgiveness – and there are no vampires or other mythical creatures involved.   And when Pattinson first signed on to the project, his co-stars, Emilie de Ravin, Pierce Brosnan and Chris Cooper, were all more famous than he was.  That changed as Twilight blew up, and the fans and paparazzi disrupting the Greenwich Village movie set made for daily tabloid fodder. 

In fact, Academy Award winner Chris Cooper, who plays de Ravin’s father, said he was drawn to the role because he liked the script and the father-daughter relationship.  “And then, it didn’t hurt that I knew Robert was attached,” Cooper added. 

Pattinson said he found Cooper to be deceptively strong.  “I always had this image of [Cooper] being quite small, and then when he turned up on the day, he could like, literally throw me around the room,” Pattinson said.  “He’s quite tough.”

We asked de Ravin, who plays Pattinson’s love interest, which of them spent more time on their hair when they shot scenes together.  “Totally Rob!” she joked.  “We waited for hours.”

New York, February 14-18 – Calvin Klein really brought out the stars this Fashion Week, at both their men’s and women’s fashion shows.  While none of the brand’s famously sexy underwear was on the runway at Sunday’s menswear show, three of the models featured in the newest Calvin Klein underwear ad campaign graced the front row: Twilight’s Kellan Lutz, True Blood’s Mehcad Brooks and Japanese soccer star Hidetoshi Nakata. We quizzed some other studly guys at the show who have not been fortunate enough to land an underwear campaign.  Ryan Phillippe didn’t hesitate when we raised the specter of appearing in billboards in his skivvies.  “I would consider it, yeah,” he said.  “It’s a great company, and they seem to take care of the people that they hire, so, um, yeah,” he said.  “I like them; I like Calvin Klein a lot.”  Lanky Lee Pace just laughed when we asked if he’d drop trou for an ad campaign.  “It’s so not on my stratosphere, the idea of doing one of those ads,” he said.  “I mean, they would never ask, it’s never crossed my mind.  Ever.”

Thursday’s women’s show was equally star-studded with Kate Bosworth, Kerry Washington, Helena Christensen and the stunning Isabel Lucas in the front row.  Actress Naomi Watts told us that for her, essentially all photo shoots, no matter the state of undress, are awkward.  “I prefer to move around in front of a motions camera, not a stills camera,” Watts said.  “So I always feel a bit frozen.”  Surprise guest Whoopi Goldberg insisted she’s never been uncomfortable in a photo shoot.  “Nobody’s ever asked me to be anything but myself,” she said.

On Thursday evening, Calvin Klein capped Fashion Week with a glamorous party at the meatpacking district space owned by the late Robert Isabel. 

Photos: Luisa Johns/PKI

New York, February 11-18, 2010 – Though February’s New York Fashion Week is usually much lighter on celebrities than in September, we managed to run into quite a few as we ran from show to show to party to party.  First, there are the handful of celebrity fashion designers: Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen showed The Row collection, Victoria Beckham showed her dresses, and then appeared at Bergdorf Goodman to unveil her new line of sunglasses and relaunch her jeans line.  And, of course, Gwen Stefani brought her blondness to her L.A.M.B. showing.  Kim Kardashian launched a line at Bebe.  Kelly Osbourne was ubiquitous (and adorable) gracing catwalks and front rows all week. 

One standout was denim line G-Star, who stocked their show at Hammerstein Ballroom with a slew of celebrities, including Liv Tyler, John Legend, Adam Lambert, Gossip Girl’s Matthew Settle, Mena Suvari and Estelle.  At a Champagne reception before the show, Hunky British actor Toby Kebbell, who co-stars with Nicolas Cage in the upcoming movie The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, told us he was there because he’d starred in a couple of G-Star ad campaigns.  He said they posed him in very tight jeans. 

We couldn’t figure out why Pamela Anderson arrived so late at Richie Rich’s fashion show – it couldn’t have taken her long to get dressed, she was hardly wearing anything! 

Justin Timberlake’s William Rast show was calm and mostly celebrity-free; of course his lady Jessica Biel prettied up his front row.  The highlight of the William Rast after party was when Timberlake took the stage for a song. 

Additional photos by Caroline Torem Craig

New York, February 9-12, 2010 – The beginning of New York Fashion Week saw three extraordinary events.  Chanel kicked things off with a party celebrating Vanessa Paradis as the face of its Rouge Coco lipstick.  Guests at the dinner, at the yet-to-open restaurant in the Mark Hotel, included Patti Smith, a friend of Paradis and her longtime love Johnny Depp, Kate Bosworth and more fashionistas than you could count. 

At the always delightful Heart Truth Red Dress fashion show, a heart health awareness campaign, famous women like Joan Collins, Jordin Sparks, Kim Kardashian and Felicity Huffman not only walked the runway, they flew in from all over the country and spent hours backstage getting made up, fitted and talking to reporters.  The only ones with actual modeling experience were Heidi Klum and Kimora Lee.  The dresses, all in red, were created by designers like Oscar de la Renta, Marchesa, John Galliano and Badgley Mischka, and will be auctioned off. 

On Friday, Naomi Campbell rallied her famous friends to raise funds to benefit Haiti after that country’s tragic earthquake.  Among those joining Naomi on the runway were Diane von Furstenberg, Sarah Ferguson, Donna Karan, Karen Elson and Fran Lebowitz in her trademark men’s suit.   Highlights were Agyness Deyn taking a spill on the runway and Alan Cumming modeling a kilt.  Daphne Guinness managed to stay upright despite having her face covered with a scarf and sky high platform shoes.  Chris Brown made an appearance as well. 

Additional photos by Caroline Torem Craig

Miami, February 5-7, 2010 – The howling blizzards up north this week provided even more incentive for celebrities to head to sunny Miami for Super Bowl weekend. 

A-listers basking in the Florida warmth and football madness included Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, Cameron Diaz, Hilary Swank, Jessica Alba and Carrie Underwood.  Off-duty athletes Andy Roddick, Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter were spotted around Miami cheering on their favorite football teams and partying. 

On Friday, Reebok gave its newly launched ZigTech shoe a serious test with welterweight champion Shane Mosley, Super Bowl XLII MVP Eli Manning, Super Bowl XLIII MVP Santonio Holmes and All-Pro wide receiver Chad Ochocinco trying them out.  Molly Sims was brave, sparring with UFC champion Chuck Liddell, a martial arts expert, at the Reebok launch.  Jersey Shore's The Situation and Pauly D stopped by, but both were careful not to muss their hair.

At W South Beach, Jamie Foxx gave an impromptu performance at Tao’s Super Bowl, belting out Run DMC’s King of Rock.  We spotted Brothers & Sisters hunk Dave Annable with his new girlfriend Odette Yustman.